Tag inheritance

ABSTRACT

A data handling system includes a managing resource that manages one or more managed resources. The managed resource inherits tags of its managing resource(s). A user of the data handling system may apply tags to a managing resource via a management console. The tags may be applied via a user interface and utilized to organize the managed and managing resources. The tags may be typeless in that the user may assign any type of meaning to any tag. Tags assigned to the managing resource are applied or inherited to the resources it manages. The pattern of inheritance repeats through ‘n’ generations as managed resources, themselves, can be managing resources.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention generally relate to data handling systemsand more particularly tagging of data handling systems and tagging ofthe resources thereof.

DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART

When a computing workload is deployed in a cloud environment, it must beplaced on computing resources that the cloud manages. For example, theworkload may be hosted by a hypervisor, which may be managed by avirtualization manager, which in turn may be managed by the cloud.

In many instances the entirety of resources in the cloud environment isunknown. For example, managed resources may be unknown until after itsmanager is registered and inventory determined. Because of thescalability of cloud environment, such registration and inventoryprocesses are not efficient in cloud environments including numerousresources. Therefore, what is needed is an efficient way to organizecomputing resources.

SUMMARY

In a first embodiment of the present invention, a method of organizingcomputing resources includes receiving, with a management console, a tagassociated with a managing computing resource, determining, with themanagement console, a plurality of managed computing resources dependentupon and controlled by the managing computing resource, applying, withthe management console, the received tag to the plurality of managedcomputing resources, and organizing, with the management console, themanaging computing resource and the plurality of managed computingresources by displaying the received tag in association with a managingcomputing resource display object and by displaying the applied tags inassociation with a plurality of managed computing resource displayobjects.

In another embodiment of the present invention, a computer programproduct for organizing computing resources includes a computer readablestorage medium having program instructions embodied therewith to cause amanagement console to receive a tag associated with a managing computingresource, determine a plurality of managed computing resources dependentupon and controlled by the managing computing resource, apply thereceived tag to the plurality of managed computing resources, andorganize the managing computing resource and the plurality of managedcomputing resources by displaying the received tag in association with amanaging computing resource display object and by displaying the appliedtags in association with a plurality of managed computing resourcedisplay objects.

In yet another embodiment of the present invention a data handlingenvironment includes a plurality of physical computing nodescommunicatively interconnected that are controlled by a managementconsole. Each respective physical computing node includes a hypervisorthat implements a plurality of virtual machines that emulate one or moreof the physical computing nodes. The management console also controlseach respective hypervisor and is configured to receive a tag associatedwith a managing computing resource, determine a plurality of managedcomputing resources dependent upon and controlled by the managingcomputing resource, apply the received tag to the plurality of managedcomputing resources, and organize the managing computing resource andthe plurality of managed computing resources by displaying the receivedtag in association with a managing computing resource display object andby displaying the applied tags in association with a plurality ofmanaged computing resource display objects.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a cloud computing node according to an embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a cloud computing environment according to an embodimentof the present invention.

FIG. 3 depicts abstraction model layers according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary data processing system toimplement one or more embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed illustration of a data processing system whichcould be used to implement one or more embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary cloud environment, in accordance withembodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 7A-FIG. 7B illustrate various computing resources within a cloudenvironment, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary graphic user interface for receivingtags, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary graphic user interface to confirm thedeployment of a computing resource that has been tagged, in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 illustrate exemplary managing resource graphic userinterfaces including a resource tag quantity inheritance object, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary managed resource graphic user interfacethat includes a resource tag object that displays an inherited tag, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary method of inheriting tags within acloud environment, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary method of removing or modifying tagswithin cloud environment, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the invention relate to a managed resource inheritingtags of a managing resource. In embodiments, a user applies tags to amanaging resource (e.g., spare/stand-by server, cloud, virtual manager,hypervisor, virtual machine, etc.). The tags may be applied via a userinterface and utilized to organize resources. The tags may be typelessin that the user assigns any type of meaning to any tag. Each tagapplied to a managing resource is inherited by each managed resource. Inother words, tags assigned to the managing resource are applied to theresources it manages. The pattern of direct inheritance repeats through‘n’ generations as managed resources, themselves, can be managers.

It is understood in advance that although this disclosure includes adetailed description on cloud computing, implementation of the teachingsrecited herein are not limited to a cloud computing environment. Rather,embodiments of the present invention are capable of being implemented inconjunction with any other type of computing environment now known orlater developed.

Cloud computing is a model of service delivery for enabling convenient,on-demand network access to a shared pool of configurable computingresources (e.g., networks, network bandwidth, servers, processing,memory, storage, applications, virtual machines, and services) that canbe rapidly provisioned and released with minimal management effort orinteraction with a provider of the service. This cloud model may includeat least five characteristics, at least three service models, and atleast four deployment models.

Characteristics are as follows:

On-demand self-service: a cloud consumer can unilaterally provisioncomputing capabilities, such as server time and network storage, asneeded automatically without requiring human interaction with theservice's provider.

Broad network access: capabilities are available over a network andaccessed through standard mechanisms that promote use by heterogeneousthin or thick client platforms (e.g., mobile phones, laptops, and PDAs).

Resource pooling: the provider's computing resources are pooled to servemultiple consumers using a multi-tenant model, with different physicaland virtual resources dynamically assigned and reassigned according todemand. There is a sense of location independence in that the consumergenerally has no control or knowledge over the exact location of theprovided resources but may be able to specify location at a higher levelof abstraction (e.g., country, state, or datacenter).

Rapid elasticity: capabilities can be rapidly and elasticallyprovisioned, in some cases automatically, to quickly scale out andrapidly released to quickly scale in. To the consumer, the capabilitiesavailable for provisioning often appear to be unlimited and can bepurchased in any quantity at any time. Measured service: cloud systemsautomatically control and optimize resource use by leveraging a meteringcapability at some level of abstraction appropriate to the type ofservice (e.g., storage, processing, bandwidth, and active useraccounts). Resource usage can be monitored, controlled, and reportedproviding transparency for both the provider and consumer of theutilized service.

Service Models are as follows:

Software as a Service (SaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto use the provider's applications running on a cloud infrastructure.The applications are accessible from various client devices through athin client interface such as a web browser (e.g., web-based email). Theconsumer does not manage or control the underlying cloud infrastructureincluding network, servers, operating systems, storage, or evenindividual application capabilities, with the possible exception oflimited user-specific application configuration settings.

Platform as a Service (PaaS): the capability provided to the consumer isto deploy onto the cloud infrastructure consumer-created or acquiredapplications created using programming languages and tools supported bythe provider. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure including networks, servers, operating systems, orstorage, but has control over the deployed applications and possiblyapplication hosting environment configurations.

Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): the capability provided to theconsumer is to provision processing, storage, networks, and otherfundamental computing resources where the consumer is able to deploy andrun arbitrary software, which can include operating systems andapplications. The consumer does not manage or control the underlyingcloud infrastructure but has control over operating systems, storage,deployed applications, and possibly limited control of select networkingcomponents (e.g., host firewalls).

Deployment Models are as follows:

Private cloud: the cloud infrastructure is operated solely for anorganization. It may be managed by the organization or a third party andmay exist on-premises or off-premises.

Community cloud: the cloud infrastructure is shared by severalorganizations and supports a specific community that has shared concerns(e.g., mission, security requirements, policy, and complianceconsiderations). It may be managed by the organizations or a third partyand may exist on-premises or off-premises.

Public cloud: the cloud infrastructure is made available to the generalpublic or a large industry group and is owned by an organization sellingcloud services.

Hybrid cloud: the cloud infrastructure is a composition of two or moreclouds (private, community, or public) that remain unique entities butare bound together by standardized or proprietary technology thatenables data and application portability (e.g., cloud bursting for loadbalancing between clouds).

A cloud computing environment is service oriented with a focus onstatelessness, low coupling, modularity, and semantic interoperability.At the heart of cloud computing is an infrastructure comprising anetwork of interconnected nodes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a schematic of an example of a cloud computingnode is shown. Cloud computing node 10 is only one example of a suitablecloud computing node and is not intended to suggest any limitation as tothe scope of use or functionality of embodiments of the inventiondescribed herein. Regardless, cloud computing node 10 is capable ofbeing implemented and/or performing any of the functionality set forthhereinabove.

In cloud computing node 10 there is a computer system/server 12, whichis operational with numerous other general purpose or special purposecomputing system environments or configurations. Examples of well-knowncomputing systems, environments, and/or configurations that may besuitable for use with computer system/server 12 include, but are notlimited to, personal computer systems, server computer systems, thinclients, thick clients, handheld or laptop devices, multiprocessorsystems, microprocessor-based systems, set top boxes, programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputer systems, mainframecomputer systems, and distributed cloud computing environments thatinclude any of the above systems or devices, and the like.

Computer system/server 12 may be described in the general context ofcomputer system executable instructions, such as program modules, beingexecuted by a computer system. Generally, program modules may includeroutines, programs, objects, components, logic, data structures, and soon that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract datatypes. Computer system/server 12 may be practiced in distributed cloudcomputing environments where tasks are performed by remote processingdevices that are linked through a communications network. In adistributed cloud computing environment, program modules may be locatedin both local and remote computer system storage media including memorystorage devices.

As shown in FIG. 1, computer system/server 12 in cloud computing node 10is shown in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Thecomponents of computer system/server 12 may include, but are not limitedto, one or more processors or processing units 16, a system memory 28,and a bus 18 that couples various system components including systemmemory 28 to processor 16.

Bus 18 represents one or more of any of several types of bus structures,including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, anaccelerated graphics port, and a processor or local bus using any of avariety of bus architectures. By way of example, and not limitation,such architectures include Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus,Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, Enhanced ISA (EISA) bus, VideoElectronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and PeripheralComponent Interconnect (PCI) bus.

Computer system/server 12 typically includes a variety of computersystem readable media. Such media may be any available media that isaccessible by computer system/server 12, and it includes both volatileand non-volatile media, removable and non-removable media.

System memory 28 can include computer system readable media in the formof volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) 30 and/or cachememory 32. Computer system/server 12 may further include otherremovable/non-removable, volatile/non-volatile computer system storagemedia. By way of example only, storage system 34 can be provided forreading from and writing to a non-removable, non-volatile magnetic media(not shown and typically called a “hard drive”). Although not shown, amagnetic disk drive for reading from and writing to a removable,non-volatile magnetic disk (e.g., a “floppy disk”), and an optical diskdrive for reading from or writing to a removable, non-volatile opticaldisk such as a CD-ROM, DVD-ROM or other optical media can be provided.In such instances, each can be connected to bus 18 by one or more datamedia interfaces. As will be further depicted and described below,memory 28 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g.,at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out thefunctions of embodiments of the invention.

Program/utility 40, having a set (at least one) of program modules 42,may be stored in memory 28 by way of example, and not limitation, aswell as an operating system, one or more application programs, otherprogram modules, and program data. Each of the operating system, one ormore application programs, other program modules, and program data orsome combination thereof, may include an implementation of a networkingenvironment. Program modules 42 generally carry out the functions and/ormethodologies of embodiments of the invention as described herein.Computer system/server 12 may also communicate with one or more externaldevices 14 such as a keyboard, a pointing device, a display 24, etc.;one or more devices that enable a user to interact with computersystem/server 12; and/or any devices (e.g., network card, modem, etc.)that enable computer system/server 12 to communicate with one or moreother computing devices. Such communication can occur via Input/Output(I/O) interfaces 22. Still yet, computer system/server 12 cancommunicate with one or more networks such as a local area network(LAN), a general wide area network (WAN), and/or a public network (e.g.,the Internet) via network adapter 20. As depicted, network adapter 20communicates with the other components of computer system/server 12 viabus 18. It should be understood that although not shown, other hardwareand/or software components could be used in conjunction with computersystem/server 12. Examples, include, but are not limited to: microcode,device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays,RAID systems, tape drives, and data archival storage systems, etc.

Referring now to FIG. 2, illustrative cloud computing environment 50 isdepicted. As shown, cloud computing environment 50 comprises one or morecloud computing nodes 10 with which local computing devices used bycloud consumers, such as, for example, personal digital assistant (PDA)or cellular telephone 54A, desktop computer 54B, laptop computer 54C,and/or automobile computer system 54N may communicate. Nodes 10 maycommunicate with one another. They may be grouped (not shown) physicallyor virtually, in one or more networks, such as Private, Community,Public, or Hybrid clouds as described hereinabove, or a combinationthereof. This allows cloud computing environment 50 to offerinfrastructure, platforms and/or software as services for which a cloudconsumer does not need to maintain resources on a local computingdevice. It is understood that the types of computing devices 54A-N shownin FIG. 2 are intended to be illustrative only and that computing nodes10 and cloud computing environment 50 can communicate with any type ofcomputerized device over any type of network and/or network addressableconnection (e.g., using a web browser).

Referring now to FIG. 3, a set of functional abstraction layers providedby cloud computing environment 50 (FIG. 2) is shown. It should beunderstood in advance that the components, layers, and functions shownin FIG. 3 are intended to be illustrative only and embodiments of theinvention are not limited thereto. As depicted, the following layers andcorresponding functions are provided:

Hardware and software layer 60 includes hardware and softwarecomponents. Examples of hardware components include mainframes, in oneexample IBM® zSeries® systems; RISC (Reduced Instruction Set Computer)architecture based servers, in one example IBM pSeries® systems; IBMxSeries® systems; IBM BladeCenter® systems; storage devices; networksand networking components. Examples of software components includenetwork application server software, in one example IBM WebSphere®application server software; and database software, in one example IBMDB2® database software. (IBM, zSeries, pSeries, xSeries, BladeCenter,WebSphere, and DB2 are trademarks of International Business MachinesCorporation registered in many jurisdictions worldwide).

Virtualization layer 62 provides an abstraction layer from which thefollowing examples of virtual entities may be provided: virtual servers;virtual storage; virtual networks, including virtual private networks;virtual applications and operating systems; and virtual clients.

In one example, management layer 64 may provide the functions describedbelow. Resource provisioning provides dynamic procurement of computingresources and other resources that are utilized to perform tasks withinthe cloud computing environment. Metering and Pricing provide costtracking as resources are utilized within the cloud computingenvironment, and billing or invoicing for consumption of theseresources. In one example, these resources may comprise applicationsoftware licenses. Security provides identity verification for cloudconsumers and tasks, as well as protection for data and other resources.User portal provides access to the cloud computing environment forconsumers and system administrators. Service level management providescloud computing resource allocation and management such that requiredservice levels are met. Service Level Agreement (SLA) planning andfulfillment provide pre-arrangement for, and procurement of, cloudcomputing resources for which a future requirement is anticipated inaccordance with an SLA.

Workloads layer 66 provides examples of functionality for which thecloud computing environment may be utilized. Examples of workloads andfunctions which may be provided from this layer include: mapping andnavigation; software development and lifecycle management; virtualclassroom education delivery; data analytics processing; transactionprocessing; mobile desktop.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a data processing system 100, which in oneexample, is a multiprocessing server computer system, computing node 10,etc. System 100 includes physical hardware devices that can be mappedto, i.e., temporarily owned by, a user application to execute thatapplication.

System 100 includes a physical computer system 102. Physical system 102includes physical hardware devices such as processor 104, memory 106,and I/O adapters 108. These physical devices are managed by hypervisor110. Processors 104 are shared processors and each may be a simultaneousmultithreading capable processor that is capable of concurrentlyexecuting multiple different threads on the processor. Hypervisor 110may also be referred to as a virtual machine manager, virtual machinemonitor, managing partition, an operating system 114 within a dedicatedvirtual machine, etc. For example, the functionality of hypervisor 110described herein may accomplished by e.g., a managing partition.

A virtual server is a proxy for a physical server that has the samecapabilities, interfaces, and state. Virtual servers are created andmanaged by a hypervisor that resides on physical system 100. A virtualserver appears to be a physical server to its user: the operatingsystem, middleware, and application software that run upon it. System100 includes one or more virtual servers such as virtual server 112.

Each virtual server appears to its software to include its ownprocessor(s), memory, and I/O adapter(s) that are available for theexclusive use of that virtual server. For example, virtual server 112includes a virtual processor 120, virtual memory 122, and virtual I/Oadapters 124. Virtual server 112 a includes virtual processors 120 a,virtual memory 122 a, and virtual I/O adapters 124 a.

Each virtual server supports its own software environment, including anoperating system, middleware, and applications. The software environmentof each virtual server can be different from the software environment ofother virtual servers. For example, the operating systems executed byeach virtual server may differ from one another.

For example, virtual server 112 supports operating system 114,middleware 116, and applications 118. Virtual server 112 a supportsoperating system 114 a, middleware 116 a, and applications 118 a.Operating systems 114 and 114 a may be the same or different operatingsystems.

A virtual server is a logical description of a server that defines aserver environment that acts, to a user, as if it were a physicalserver, being accessed and providing information in the same way as aphysical server. The virtual processors, virtual memory, and virtual I/Oadapters that are defined for each virtual server are logicalsubstitutes for physical processors, memory, and I/O adapters.

Hypervisor 110 manages the mapping between the virtual servers withtheir virtual processors, virtual memory, and virtual I/O adapters andthe physical hardware devices that are selected to implement thesevirtual devices. For example, when a virtual processor is dispatched, aphysical processor, such as one of physical processors 104, is selectedby hypervisor 110 to be used to execute and implement that virtualprocessor. Hypervisor 110 manages the selections of physical devices andtheir temporary assignment to virtual devices.

Hypervisor 110 services all of the logical partitions during a dispatchtime slice. The dispatch time slice is a particular length of time.During each dispatch time slice, hypervisor 110 will allocate, orassign, the physical processor to each logical partition. When thelogical partition has been allocated time on the physical processor, thevirtual processors defined by that logical partition will be executed bythe physical processor.

Hypervisor 110 is responsible for dynamically creating, managing, anddestroying virtual servers. Whole virtual processors, virtual I/Oadapters, and virtual memory blocks can be removed or added byhypervisor 110. Hypervisor 110 is also responsible for dynamic resourceallocation, managing time-sharing of physical resources, and alteringthe physical resource mapped to a processor without involving theoperating system. Hypervisor 110 is also able to dedicate physicalresources to virtual resources for situations where sharing is notdesired. Hypervisor 110 is responsible for managing the addition orremoval of physical resources. Hypervisor 110 makes these additions anddeletions transparent to the upper level applications.

FIG. 5 is a more detailed illustration of a computer system that may beused to implement the concepts described herein. Data processing system200 may be a symmetric multiprocessor system including a plurality ofshared processors or multi treading capable processors, such asprocessors 202 and 204 connected to system bus 206. Alternatively, asingle processor system may be employed. In the depicted example,processor 204 is a service processor. Each processor may be capable ofconcurrently executing multiple hardware threads on the one processor.

Also connected to system bus 206 is memory controller/cache 208, whichprovides an interface to local memory 209. I/O bus bridge 210 isconnected to system bus 206 and provides an interface to I/O bus 212.Memory controller/cache 208 and I/O bus bridge 210 may be integrated asdepicted.

Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) bus bridge 214 connected to I/Obus 212 provides an interface to PCI local bus 216. A number of modemsmay be connected to PCI bus 216. Typical PCI bus implementations willsupport four PCI expansion slots or add-in connectors. Communicationslinks to network computers may be provided through modem 218 and networkadapter 220 connected to PCI local bus 216 through add-in boards.

Network adapter 220 includes a physical layer 282 which conditionsanalog signals to go out to the network, such as for example, anEthernet network for an R45 connector. A media access controller (MAC)280 is included within network adapter 220. Media access controller(MAC) 280 is coupled to bus 216 and processes digital network signals.MAC 280 serves as an interface between bus 216 and physical layer 282.MAC 280 performs a number of functions involved in the transmission andreception of data packets. For example, during the transmission of data,MAC 280 assembles the data to be transmitted into a packet with addressand error detection fields. Conversely, during the reception of apacket, MAC 280 disassembles the packet and performs address checkingand error detection. In addition, MAC 280 typically performsencoding/decoding of digital signals transmitted and performs preamblegeneration/removal as well as bit transmission/reception.

Additional PCI bus bridges 222 and 224 provide interfaces for additionalPCI buses 226 and 228, from which additional modems or network adaptersmay be supported. In this manner, data processing system 200 allowsconnections to multiple network computers. A memory-mapped graphicsadapter 230 and hard disk 232 may also be connected to I/O bus 212 asdepicted, either directly or indirectly.

Service processor 204 interrogates system processors, memory components,and I/O bridges to generate and inventory and topology understanding ofdata processing system 200. Service processor 204 also executesBuilt-In-Self-Tests (BISTs), Basic Assurance Tests (BATs), and memorytests on all elements found by interrogating a system processor, memorycontroller, and I/O bridge. Any error information for failures detectedduring the BISTs, BATs, and memory tests are gathered and reported byservice processor 204.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardwaredepicted in FIG. 5 may vary. For example, other peripheral devices, suchas optical disk drives and the like, also may be used in addition to orin place of the hardware depicted. The depicted example is not meant toimply architectural limitations with respect to the present invention.

The present invention may be executed within one of the computers ordata processing systems depicted in FIG. 4, FIG. 5, etc. As a specific,commercially available example, a shared memory partition dataprocessing system implementing hypervisor-managed paging such asdescribed herein below can be built upon technologies found in IBM's p/iSeries product line firmware and systemware, as described in the “PowerArchitecture Platform Reference” (PAPR) material Version 2.7, 9 Oct.2007, which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. In addition, avirtual input/output server (VIOS) is commercially available as part ofa PowerVM™ computing system offered by International Business MachinesCorporation™. The VIOS allows sharing of physical resources betweenlogical partitions, including virtual SCSI and virtual networking. Thisallows more efficient utilization of physical resources through sharingbetween logical partitions and facilitates server consolidation. Forclarity, the shared memory partition is generally a partition or virtualmachine sharing memory space (e.g., DRAM memory, FLASH memory, diskdrive memory, etc.) with a distinct partition or virtual machine.

FIG. 6 illustrates an exemplary cloud environment 350 (e.g. IaaS cloud,etc.) that includes a management console 320 and multiple physical nodes375, which may be example, multiprocessing server computer systems,computing nodes 10, data processing systems 100, etc. Each node 375within cloud environment 350 includes a physical system includingphysical hardware devices such as processor, memory, hard drive, I/Oadapters, etc. A hypervisor may deploy numerous virtual machines thatare proxies for a physical system (the physical node hosting thehypervisor, an emulated node, etc.). The virtual machines are createdand managed by a hypervisor that resides on each node 375 within thecloud environment 350.

Each hypervisor hosted by respective nodes 375 may be managed bymanagement console 320 that includes an interface for configuring andoperating the numerous nodes and/or virtual machines. Management consolemay be a data handling device, such as node 10, etc. Using themanagement console 320, a system administrator is able to manage thesoftware configuration and operation of each virtual machine hosted byone or more nodes 375, manage the node 375, etc. In this manner,management console 320 may be considered a managing resource and thenode 375 may be considered a managed resource.

A virtual machine (e.g. virtual server, virtual computer, etc.) appearsto be a physical machine to its user. For example, each virtual machineappears to its software to include its own processor(s), memory, and I/Oadapter(s) that are available for the exclusive use of that virtualmachine. Each virtual machine supports its own software environment,including an operating system, middleware, and applications. Thesoftware environment of each virtual machine can be different from thesoftware environment of other virtual machines. For example, theoperating systems executed by each virtual machine may differ from oneanother. The hypervisor manages the mapping between the virtual machinewith their virtual processors, virtual memory, virtual disk, virtual I/Oadapters to the associated physical hardware resources of the host node.

Each hypervisor is responsible for dynamically creating, managing, anddestroying virtual machines. As such, the hypervisor may be considered amanaging resource and each respective virtual machine may be considereda managed resource. In embodiments, the hypervisor may deploy virtualmachines based upon a particular virtual machine image amongst aplurality of various virtual machine images. The various images may bestored within each node or within management console 320 or areotherwise assessable by each local hypervisor. Upon the hypervisordeploying virtual machines from associated images, each virtual machineis unique relative to other virtual machines and typically includesdistinct MAC addresses and/or other virtual machine identifiers.Deploying multiple virtual machines from a single image may be usefulwhen numerous identical virtual machines would be beneficial. Forexample, a virtual machine may be deployed for each employee of anorganization wherein each virtual machine includes a suite ofpreconfigured office applications. Further, the image can be configuredwith a complete development environment and then cloned repeatedly as abaseline configuration for software testing. Even further, an educationinstitution can deploy a virtual machine for each student, with all thelessons and labs required for the term. In other words, by deployingvirtual machines, one may conveniently make complete copies of a virtualmachine image. In embodiments, the virtual machines deployed byhypervisor may be a Full Clone of a particular virtual machine image ora Linked Clone of a particular virtual machine image.

FIG. 7A-FIG. 7B illustrate exemplary computing resources within cloudenvironment 350. A resource may be a managing resource, which manages,controls, or other wise provides information to a managed resource. Amanaged resource is managed, controlled, or is otherwise dependent uponinformation provided by the managing resource. The managed resource mayutilize the information provided by the managing resource to operate orimplement workload consistent therewith. In embodiments, a particularmanaged resource may also manage one or more other resources.

As exemplary shown in FIG. 7A, management console 320 may manage node375A and manage node 375B. Node 375A may manage hypervisor 110A andmanage hypervisor 11B. Node 375B may manage hypervisor 110C. Hypervisor110A may manage a first virtual machine 400A and may manage a secondvirtual machine 400B. Hypervisor 110B may manage a virtual machine 400Cand hypervisor 110C may manage a virtual machine 400D. Virtual machine400A may manage or implement an operating system 114A, virtual machine400B may manage or implement an operating system 114B, virtual machine400C may manage or implement an operating system 114C, and virtualmachine 400D may manage or implement an operating system 114D.

As exemplary shown in FIG. 7B, operating system 114B may manage orimplement middleware 116A and manage or implement middleware 116B.Operating system 114C may manage or implement middleware 116C. Operatingsystem 114B may further manage or implement applications 118A that aredependent upon middleware 116A and may manage or implement applications118B that are dependent upon middleware 116B. Finally, operating system114C may manage or implement applications 118C that are dependent uponmiddleware 116C.

In embodiments, management console 320, nodes 375A, 375B, hypervisors110A, 110B, 110C, virtual machines 400A, 400B, 400C, 400D, operatingsystems 114A, 114B, 114C, 114D, middleware 116A, 116B, 116C, andapplications 118A, 118B, 118C are examples of computing resources. Someof these resources are managing resources (e.g. management console 320,hypervisor 110A, virtual machine 400B, etc.). Some of these resourcesare managing resources and managed resources (e.g. hypervisor 110A,etc.). Some of these resources are managed resources (e.g. middleware116B, applications 116C, etc.).

In embodiments, a tag is applied to a managing resource and inherited byrespective managed resources. Such tags may be utilized to efficientlyorganize the computing resources within cloud 350. In this paper, “tag”is a keyword or term assigned to a respective computing resource. Thetag may be a form of metadata (i.e. metatag) that describes the resourceand may be utilized in a browsing, searching, or management application.For example, metatags may be displayed in association with a resourceupon the management console 320. Tags are typeless in that they may beassigned to the resource without the resource or the managing resourceknowing the context or meaning of the tag. Tags may describe or definesome aspect of the resource and may take the form of words, images, orother identifying marks.

In embodiments, tag 410 may be applied to management console 320 andinherited by nodes 375A, 375B, hypervisors 110A, 110B, 110C, virtualmachines 400A, 400B, 400C, 400D, operating systems 114A, 114B, 114C,114D, middleware 116A, 116B, 116C, and applications 118A, 118B, 118C. Inother words, tag 410 is applied to management console and inherited byeach managed resource. Tag 410 may, for example, describe or identifymanagement console 410.

Tag 420 may be applied to node 375A and inherited by managed resources:hypervisor 110A, 110B, virtual machines 400A, 400B, 400C, operatingsystems 114A, 114B, 114C, middleware 116A, 116B, and applications 118A,118B. Tag 420 may, for example, describe or identify node 375A. Tag 422may be applied to node 375B and inherited by managed resources:hypervisor 110C, virtual machine 400D, and operating system 114D. Tag422 may, for example, describe procedures, lessons learned, and factsthat are related to node 375B.

Tag 430 may be applied to hypervisor 110A and inherited by managedresources: virtual machine 400A, 400B, operating system 114A, 114B,middleware 116A, 116B, and applications 118A, 118B. Likewise, tag 432may be applied to hypervisor 110B and inherited by managed resources:virtual machine 400C, operating system 114C, middleware 116C, andapplications 118C. Further, tag 434 may be applied to hypervisor 110Cand inherited by managed resources: virtual machine 400DC, and operatingsystem 114D. Tags 430, 432, 434 may, for example, be subjectiveinformation related to facts, procedures, concepts, interpretations,ideas, observations and judgments of hypervisor 110A, 110B, 110C,respectively.

Tag 440 may be applied to virtual machine 400A and inherited by managedresource operating system 114A. Tag 442 may be applied to virtualmachine 400B and inherited by managed resources: operating system 114B,middleware 116A, 116B, and applications 118A, 118B. Tag 444 may beapplied to virtual machine 400C and inherited by managed resources:operating system 114C, middleware 116C, and application 118C. Tag 446may be applied to virtual machine 400D and inherited by managed resourceoperating system 114D. Tags 440, 442, 444, 446 may, for example, beobjective information related to the assigned beneficiary of workloadperformed by virtual machines 400A, 400B, 400C, and 400D, respectively.

Tag 450 may be applied to operating system 114A and inherited by managedresources. Likewise, tag 452 may be applied to operating system 114B andinherited by managed resources: middleware 116A, 116B, and applications118A, 118B. Tag 454 may be applied to operating system 114C andinherited by managed resources: middleware 116C and applications 118C.Tag 456 may be applied to operating system 114D and inherited by managedresources. Tags 450, 452, 454, 456 may, for example, be identifyinginformation related to the type or release level of operating systems114A, 114B, 114C, and 114D, respectively.

Tag 460 may be applied to middleware 116A and be inherited by managedresource: applications 118A. Tag 462 may be applied to middleware 116Band be inherited by managed resource: applications 118B. Tag 464 may beapplied to middleware 116C and be inherited by managed resource:applications 118C. Tags 460, 462, 464 may identify suite release levelrelated to one or more middleware components of middleware 116A, 116B,and 116C, respectively.

Tag 470, 472, 474 may be applied to applications 118A, 118B, 118C and beinherited by managed resources, respectively. Tags 470, 472, 474 mayidentify usage levels associated with one or more application componentsof applications 118A, 118B, and 118C, respectively.

In embodiments, tags may be applied by a user via a user interfaceassociated with the managing resource. In other embodiments, upondeployment within cloud environment 350, the managing resource may selfapply one or more tags. For example, the managing resource may selfapply an identifier tag such as a GUID, etc. In embodiments, the appliedtags and inherited tags may be displayed upon a user interfaceassociated with one or more managing resources.

For example, in FIG. 8 an exemplary graphic user interface 500 forreceiving or applying tags is shown. In certain embodiments, userinterface 500 may be utilized in a cloud management application formanaging or organizing various resources within cloud environment 350.User interface 500 may be displayed upon management console 320 and mayinclude various row entries listing various resources. For example, amanaged resource “789522X_10F763A” and a managed resource “domain-c7”are displayed. User interface 500 may also display associated managerresources. For example, multiple row entries for managed resource“789522X_10F763A” may be included since such resource is managed bymanager resource “pvc1.ibm.com” and by “jpvc.ibm.com,” respectively.User interface 500 may further display associated tags that have beenreceived and applied or otherwise associated with a managed resource.For example, tags “Rochester” and “Health_Certified” are displayedwithin the top 789522X_10F763A″ row after having been received andapplied to 789522X_10F763A.” User interface 500 may further include oneor more tag entry fields 504 that may be utilized by a user to input oneor more tags. Tag entry field 504 may be a free form text entry object.For example, a user may add tag “Repository” by typing such tag into tagentry filed. The tag entry field 504 may display related tags in a dropdown as shown in FIG. 8, as the user is typing the tag to be assigned.In certain embodiments, the tag entry field 504 may be displayed uponthe user engaging tag add object 502. Interface 500 may also include atag object 505 that displays tags applied to a managing resource. Inembodiments, tag object 505 may be engaged and a subsequent interface(e.g. interface 540, etc.) may be displayed that depicts managedresources that inherited the tag associated with the tag object 505.

As shown in FIG. 9, user interface 500 may include an object 506 toconfirm the deployment of a computing resource that has been tagged, inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. For example,confirmation object 506 may be displayed to prompt the user of interface500 to confirm the resource “pvc.1.ibm.com” should be added or deployedwithin cloud environment 350. Confirmation object 506 may include theapplied tags associated with the resource. For example, object 506displays that resource “pvc.1.ibm.com” has been tagged with “Rochester”and “Health_Certified.” Further, user interface 500 may include anoption to activate or deactivate tag inheritance functionality. Forexample, object 506 may include an option to enable tag inheritance sothat all resources currently managed by resource “pvc.1.ibm.com” willinherit tags “Rochester” and “Health_Certified.”

FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 illustrate an exemplary managing resource graphicuser interface 520. Interface 520 includes a resource tag inheritancequantity object 522 that is indicative of the number of managedresources that have inherited a tag or tags applied to the managingresource. Object 522 may be a gauge icon that generally is able toinform the user of the interface 520 of the respective quantity ofmanaged resources that have inherited a tag applied to an associatedmanaging resource. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a managing resource“pvc1.ibm.com” has had a tag applied thereto that has been inherited byits managed resources. Object 522 displays a full status indicating thatall of the managed resources that have inherited the tag have retainedthe tag. In other words, the tag(s) inherited by the managed resourcesof “pvc1.ibm.com” have not been removed from the managed resources. Inembodiments, a user may engage the interface 520 using a touch gesture524, cursor, etc. In embodiments, a hover object 526 is displayed ifobject 522 is engaged. Hover object 526 may include informationregarding the quantity of managed resources that have inherited a tag ortags applied to an associated managing resource. For example, managingresource “pvc1.ibm.com” has had a tag or tags applied thereto that havebeen inherited by two managed resources. When hover object 526 isdisplayed, it includes that two managed resources have inherited a tagor tags applied to resource “pvc1.ibm.com” and that neither of the twomanaged resources have had the tag or tags removed therefrom. Further,as shown in FIG. 11, managing resource “pvc2.ibm.com” has had a tag ortags applied thereto that have been inherited by ten managed resources.When hover object 526 is displayed, it includes that ten managedresources have inherited a tag or tags applied to resource“pvc2.ibm.com” and that one of the ten managed resources have had thetag or tags removed therefrom.

FIG. 12 illustrates an exemplary managed resource graphic user interface540 that includes a resource tag object 542 that displays an inheritedtag. Tag object 542 displays tags inherited by an associated managedresource. In embodiments inherited tag object 542 differs visually fromapplied tag object 505 so that a user of interface 540 may be informedof the tags that have been applied and tags that have been inherited toan associated resource. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, two managedresources have both inherited “Rochester” tags. In embodiments tagobject 542 may be a different color, font, etc. relative to tag object505. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 12, tag object 542 may include anadditional character, such as an “*” adjacent to the inherited tag.

FIG. 13 illustrates an exemplary method 600 of inheriting tags withincloud environment. Method 600 may be utilized by management console 320to manage the resources within cloud environment 350. Method 600 beginsat block 602 and continues with a tag being associated with a resourcewithin the cloud organization application (block 604). For example, oneor more tags may be applied to a managing resource or received by eachmanaged resource that may be dependent upon the managing resource.

Method 600 may continue by the management console 320 determining ifassociated resource manages managed resources (block 606). For example,the management console 320 may query the cloud environment applicationto determine managing and manager device relationship information. Ifthe associated resource does not manage other resources the tag isassociated or otherwise applied thereto (block 610). If the associatedresource does manage other resources, the received tag is associatedwith the managed resources (block 608). Method 600 ends at block 612.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary method 650 removing or modifying tagswithin cloud environment. Method 650 may be utilized by managementconsole 320 to manage the resources within cloud environment 350. Method650 beings at block 652 and continues with a resource within cloudenvironment 350 receiving a tag (block 654). For example, one or moretags may be applied to a managing resource by user input into a cloudmanagement application.

Method 650 may continue with management console 320 sending the receivedtag to each resource managed by the resource associated with thereceived tag (block 656). In this manner each managed resource mayinherit the received tag. Method 650 may continue by the managementconsole 320 determining if the inherited tag has been modified orremoved (block 662). For example, a user of management console 320 mayedit, remove, delete, etc. an inherited tag associated with a managedresource. Method 650 may continue with notifying that the inherited taghas been removed or modified in association with the managed resource(block 664). For example, in a user interface of the manage console 320associated with the managing device for which the received tag wasapplied, a resource tag inheritance quantity object 522 may bedisplayed.

Method 650 may continue with management console 320 determining whetherthe received tag is removed or modified (block 658). For example, theuser of management console 320 may edit, remove, delete, etc. thereceived tag. If the received tag is modified or removed, the associatedinherited tag or tags are modified or removed accordingly (block 660).For example, if the user of management console deletes the tag“Rochester” and adds the tag “Raleigh,” each associated inherited“Rochester” tag is removed and a “Raleigh” tag is inherited fromappropriate managed resources. Method 650 ends at block 665.

Embodiments of the present invention may be a system, a method, and/or acomputer program product. The computer program product may include acomputer readable storage medium (or media) having computer readableprogram instructions thereon for causing a processor to carry outaspects of the present invention. The computer readable storage mediumcan be a tangible device that can retain and store instructions for useby an instruction execution device. The computer readable storage mediummay be, for example, but is not limited to, an electronic storagedevice, a magnetic storage device, an optical storage device, anelectromagnetic storage device, a semiconductor storage device, or anysuitable combination of the foregoing. A non-exhaustive list of morespecific examples of the computer readable storage medium includes thefollowing: a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random accessmemory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmableread-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), a static random access memory(SRAM), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digitalversatile disk (DVD), a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanicallyencoded device such as punch-cards or raised structures in a groovehaving instructions recorded thereon, and any suitable combination ofthe foregoing. A computer readable storage medium, as used herein, isnot to be construed as being transitory signals per se, such as radiowaves or other freely propagating electromagnetic waves, electromagneticwaves propagating through a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g.,light pulses passing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signalstransmitted through a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Java, Smalltalk, C++ or the like,and conventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions. These computer readable programinstructions may be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, create means for implementing thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks. These computer readable program instructions may also be storedin a computer readable storage medium that can direct a computer, aprogrammable data processing apparatus, and/or other devices to functionin a particular manner, such that the computer readable storage mediumhaving instructions stored therein comprises an article of manufactureincluding instructions which implement aspects of the function/actspecified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowcharts and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over those found in the marketplace, or to enable others ofordinary skill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosedherein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer program product for organizingcomputing resources, the computer program product comprising a computerreadable storage medium having program instructions embodied therewith,the program instructions readable to cause a management console to:display a tag entry field within a graphical user interface and receivea tag associated with a managing computing resource there within, thetag comprising a typeless keyword that describes the managing computingresource; determine a plurality of managed computing resources dependentupon and controlled by the managing computing resource; apply thereceived tag to all the plurality of managed computing resourcesdependent upon and controlled by the managing computing resource;display a managing computing resource display object within the graphicuser interface, the managing computing resource display objectcomprising a first visual representation of the received tag; display aplurality of managed computing resource display objects within thegraphic user interface, each managed computing resource display objectcomprising a second visual representation of the applied tag, whereinthe first visual representation of the received tag is visually distinctfrom the second visual representation of the applied tag; and receive auser engagement of the managing computing resource display object andresultantly determine whether the received tag applied to all theplurality of managed computing resources have been subsequently removedfrom one or more of the plurality of managed computing resources; anddisplay within a hover object within the graphic user interface a firstquantity of managed computing resources dependent upon and controlled bythe managing computing resource that which the received tag was appliedand has not been subsequently removed therefrom and a second quantity ofmanaged computing resources dependent upon and controlled by themanaging computing resource that which the received tag was applied andhas been subsequently removed therefrom.
 2. The computer program productof claim 1, wherein the plurality of managed computing resourcescomprises a first managed computing resource directly managed by themanaging computing resource and a second managed computing resourcedirectly managed by the first managed computing resource.
 3. Thecomputer program product of claim 2, wherein the managing computingresource is a physical computing node, the first managed computingresource is a hypervisor hosted by the physical computing node, and thesecond managed computing resource is a virtual machine hosted by thehypervisor.
 4. The computer program product of claim 2, wherein themanaging computing resource is a virtual machine hosted upon a physicalcomputing node, the first managed computing resource is an operatingsystem hosted by the virtual machine and stored upon the physicalcomputing node, and the second managed computing resource areapplication program instructions called by the operating system andstored upon the physical computing node.
 5. The computer program productof claim 1, wherein the program instructions further cause themanagement console to: receive a user engagement of a particular managedcomputing resource display object; and display a grouping of all of theplurality of managed computing resource display objects associated withthe plurality of managed computing resources that which the tag wasapplied.
 6. The computer program product of claim 1, wherein the receivetag and the applied tags are metatags.
 7. The computer program productof claim 1, wherein the first visual representation of the received tagis displayed with a different font relative to the second visualrepresentation of the applied tag.
 8. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the first visual representation of the received tag isdisplayed with a different color relative to the second visualrepresentation of the applied tag.
 9. The computer program product ofclaim 1, wherein the first visual representation of the received tagincludes an added character relative to the second visual representationof the applied tag.
 10. A data handling network comprising: a pluralityof physical computing nodes communicatively interconnected and eachrespectively comprising a hypervisor that implements a plurality ofvirtual machines that emulate one or more of the physical computingnodes; a management console that controls the plurality of physicalcomputing nodes and each respective hypervisor, the management consoleconfigured to: display a tag entry field within a graphical userinterface and receive a tag associated with a managing computingresource there within, the tag comprising a typeless keyword thatdescribes the managing computing resource, determine a plurality ofmanaged computing resources dependent upon and controlled by themanaging computing resource, apply the received tag to all the pluralityof managed computing resources dependent upon and controlled by themanaging computing resource, display a managing computing resourcedisplay object within the graphic user interface of the managementconsole, the managing computing resource display object comprising afirst visual representation of the received tag, display a plurality ofmanaged computing resource display objects within the graphic userinterface of the management console, each managed computing resourcedisplay object comprising a second visual representation of the appliedtag, wherein the first visual representation of the received tag isvisually distinct from the second visual representation of the appliedtag, and receive a user engagement of the managing computing resourcedisplay object and resultantly determine whether the received tagapplied to all the plurality of managed computing resources have beensubsequently removed from one or more of the plurality of managedcomputing resources; and display within a hover object within thegraphic user interface of the management console a first quantity ofmanaged computing resources dependent upon and controlled by themanaging computing resource that which the received tag was applied andhas not been subsequently removed therefrom and a second quantity ofmanaged computing resources dependent upon and controlled by themanaging computing resource that which the received tag was applied andhas been subsequently removed therefrom.
 11. The data handling networkof claim 10, wherein the plurality of managed computing resourcescomprises a first managed computing resource directly managed by themanaging computing resource and a second managed computing resourcedirectly managed by the first managed computing resource.
 12. The datahandling network of claim 10, wherein the managing computing resource isa physical computing node, the first managed computing resource is ahypervisor hosted by the physical computing node, and the second managedcomputing resource is a virtual machine hosted by the hypervisor. 13.The data handling network of claim 10, wherein the managing computingresource is a virtual machine hosted upon a physical computing node, thefirst managed computing resource is an operating system hosted by thevirtual machine and stored upon the physical computing node, and thesecond managed computing resource are application program instructionscalled by the operating system and stored upon the physical computingnode.
 14. The data handling network of claim 10, wherein the managementconsole is further configured to: receive a user engagement of aparticular managed computing resource display object, and display agrouping of all of the plurality of managed computing resource displayobjects associated with the plurality of managed computing resourcesthat which the tag was applied.
 15. The data handling network of claim10, wherein the receive tag and the applied tags are metatags.
 16. Thedata handling network of claim 10, wherein the first visualrepresentation of the received tag is displayed with a different fontrelative to the second visual representation of the applied tag.
 17. Thedata handling network of claim 10, wherein the first visualrepresentation of the received tag is displayed with a different colorrelative to the second visual representation of the applied tag.
 18. Thedata handling network of claim 10, wherein the first visualrepresentation of the received tag includes an added character relativeto the second visual representation of the applied tag.